Google Exec Megan Smith Might Be The Next CTO Of The United States

Published 6:09 pm, Thursday, August 28, 2014

Megan Smith, the VP of Google X, Google’s secretive research lab, is close to being named the next Chief Technology Officer of the United States, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

If appointed, Smith would replace Todd Park, who recently stepped down from the CTO role to take the technology adviser position for President Barack Obama. Smith would become the third CTO of America.

The CTO’s primary role is to manage how technology is used by the U.S. government. For example, it finds ways to create more tech-related jobs or how to use the internet for things like healthcare.

Since joining Google in 2003, Smith has filled several executive roles, including VP of business development and head of Google.org. She was also the co-host of Solve for X, a forum where industry thought leaders join Google executives to discuss new tech ideas.

Smith finished her bachelor’s and master’s degree at MIT. She worked for Apple and Planet Out, a site dedicated to the LGBT community, before joining Google.

She’s also famous for getting married to Re/code’s Kara Swisher in 1999. They were together for 15 years but are currently separated.